Houston Texans running back Arian Foster throws a ball before an NFL football game against the New Orleans Saints at the Louisiana Superdome Sunday, Sept. 25, 2011, New Orleans. Foster was ruled out before the start of the game.

Houston Texans running back Arian Foster (23), right, looks to run away from Miami Dolphins strong safety Yeremiah Bell (37) in the first quarter of a NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2011, in Sun Life Stadium in Miami.

There are faster running backs in the NFL than Arian Foster. There are bigger backs, too.

There might be backs with better vision and superior cutting ability. There might even be smarter backs.

But there aren't many who have all these gifts, and maybe that's one of the reasons he led the NFL in rushing last season.

He would be the first to tell you he has been successful because he plays for a coach committed to a power running game and runs behind a good offensive line.

And there's Foster, who is special in ways sometimes hard to define. He wasn't passed over in the 2009 draft just because there were questions about his attitude.

If scouts had known he was capable of leading the NFL in rushing in his second season, they would have found reasons to love his attitude, too.

It's puzzling why so many people missed on Foster because he does so many things well. In the locker room at Reliant Stadium, almost everyone has a different opinion about the thing that makes him so good. For instance, there's his patience.

"He lets things develop," Andre Johnson said. "He really understands our running scheme. That's big. When I see him on film, he's not forcing anything. He lets the game come to him."

Patient, trusting back

Foster's patience is a big deal in the zone-blocking scheme. It's time tested, but it's also different than simply getting behind a blocker and cutting into the open at the first opportunity.

Which brings us to another of Foster's gifts.

"Trust is so important," running backs coach Chick Harris said. "That's what we try to teach every day in practice.

"We want to make sure (our backs) understand where the line is blocking and the importance of being at the point of attack when the hole opens up."

Added left tackle Duane Brown: "While the hole may not look like it's there initially, it opens up. He does a great job of trusting us and getting to the second level."

Ah, the second level.

Plays are designed to go for, say, 5 or 6 yards. After that, running backs might find themselves alone facing safeties or linebackers who have come up to pursue the play. Foster is extraordinary when he gets in those situations and is seldom brought down by the first guy.